


Tahl in the Clone Wars

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Abandoned Concepts [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 23:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8642662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Tahl, while working in the Archive, gets shunted through time to the Clone Wars, and learns so much she wishes to change.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Again, exploring time-travel and meddling. And again, the steam ran out, but we offer what we did write.

Tahl had been cataloguing the contents of a rarely used section in the Archives, the helper droid describing the physical things that touch could not provide for her, and verifying everything against the centuries-old inventory.

The 'multi-colored polygonal artifact' that she had last picked up had seemed so innocuous. That had been until her fingers had explored the very faint notches cut into it, trying to puzzle out what language, if a language it was, had been etched into it. 

The next thing she had known was the sound of distant combat, a lurching sensation in her equilibrium, and the touch of an armored hand on her shoulder as a voice demanded to know if she was alright.

"Of course I'm not alright! I don't even know where I am!" she snapped before she realized that she didn't have her emotions in check, that she was running on fear. She cast about for the sense of whomever was near… ahh, more armor, at least three presences, and the battle was fading further away.

How she had gotten here mattered far less than where, as she could not remember any open conflicts that would be so invested in fighting as to have full armor in use. 

Right, _sharp_ -tempered woman, Gearshift thought as he looked at the tall woman that had drawn his attention by suddenly being both present and prone in his AO. 'Not alright' was a reasonable response to being somewhere you didn't recognize, he thought, but he hadn't seen anything drop her here, why didn't she? 

Maybe a flying piece of clanker had hit her? 

She was one of the nonhuman species... Noorian, maybe? Her eyes were milky, but he thought there was gold behind them. "You're on Velmor, si -- ma'am," he went for the odd feminine honorific, halfway through answering to the tone. "And you're safe with us. We're doing a fair job knocking the tinnies back. 

"Punch, Dark, you good to hold long enough for me to get the General's attention?" 

"We've got this, Gearshift," Dark answered for them both.

Tahl thought she knew that accent, and the switch in gendered articles, with the particular inflection made her fairly certain she was correct, but she let it go. Thank the Force she did not wear her lightsaber openly though, if she _was_ right! Mandalorians notoriously despised Jedi, or at least most of them did, because of such complicated histories.

"May I have some water?" Tahl asked the pair remaining with her, to try and relieve the slight headache and to give herself time to think. Getting free of armored warriors, should it prove necessary, would require careful strategy.

She wasn't as much of a bantha, after all, to just trod all over them like Qui-Gon would.

"Of course si -- ma'am," Punch answered, taking his clue from Gearshift, unclipping a canteen and moving to hold it out to her, keeping his Deece up in his other hand. She didn't seem to be tracking his movements with her eyes. Was she... blind? They'd had brothers blinded by clanker fire or shrapnel, but the medical stations normally replaced those with cybernetic. He dipped to put the canteen in her hand, and she moved a little, just before their hands met, so that she could take it. 

A few meters away, a column of rock between him and the clankers, Gearshift tapped at his comm to get the command Lartie. "How busy's the General, Wooley?" 

"Not terribly; we've all but finished the fight on this side. Waiting on Waxer to finish his part of the pincer," Wooley said. "Let me get him." A short jog over, and then back, before it wasn't Wooley in the picture but the General.

"Gearshift, what can I do for you?" the Jedi asked, though his eyes scanned outward, as if making certain all was well.

"We sort of found a civilian, sir? At least, I think she's a civilian? Noorian, maybe? Very tall, and... sharp. She's... pretty confused, didn't know where she was; but I don't see any kind of head injury. What do we do with her, sir?" 

"Why is a Noorian here?" was the first thing that escaped Obi-Wan's mouth. "Nevermind that. I think I can break away from this long enough to rendezvous with your position, Gearshift. As it is odd a civilian non-native would come to be in the war-zone. It would be best to be certain she is not a spy, after all."

"Roger that, sir," Gearshift answered, kicking himself for not having thought of it, but she didn't... she'd been too open in her responses, from what he'd seen. But that could be a trick. He glanced back, and both of his brothers were still fine, the woman taking slow, measured drinks from a canteen. "Be glad to see you." 

Obi-Wan took a few moments to square things away, then took one of the speeder bikes to make for Gearshift's position out on the edge of the pincer. 

Gearshift moved back to them, saying, "General's on his way," as he watched her face for any response. Most Seppies, even that murderous witch, would have second opinions about anything they were planning with General Kenobi on his way. 

"Oh good," she said, having drank her fill of water and passed the canteen back. "Perhaps he can help me understand what's going on a little better. Or figure out how to get back to my homeworld." She did not say 'Temple', as she truly needed to be certain these were not Mandalorian mercenaries. She did not wish to have to fight them until she had no choice.

That definitely wasn't a usual response from a Seppie, Gearshift thought, before he saw her head turn slightly and his audios picked up the sound of a speeder bike. He turned his head and found the General coming quick, dust thrown up in his wake. 

Obi-Wan brought the bike to a stop a couple of meters from their position, swung down off of it... and his heels attempted to fuse with the stone at the impossible sight in front of him. He knew that bunned and bound hair, that copper-gold skin and statuesque figure so well, knew that sharp cant of a jaw and the white-trimmed scarlet collar lifting above a familiar pale poncho, the milky sheen over those copper eyes -- they featured in his dreams and his nightmares, but the woman who bore them had been dead for more than fifteen years. 

It was _impossible_. He had been just outside as she died, _there_ as his Master nearly destroyed himself in his hunger for vengeance... but he knew her. He **knew** her. 

Tahl's head had turned toward the sound of the bike, and she now stood so her body faced the newcomer. Strong Force signature, faintly familiar, and… shock? Why would that be?

"Greetings," she called, keeping her voice in the careful tones of negotiation, rather than letting her unease get the better of her again. "I take it you are the General they mentioned?"

That was her voice, all of her height, all -- everything he was looking at just confirmed the impossible. "I am," he agreed, trying to hold his voice steady, as he reached into the Force for the strength to take another step, for the control not to fling himself across the meter-and-some between them and cling to her. He managed the step, and not more, as he stretched out with the Force, brushing politely against her presence. 

It too was _her_. So completely, even though her tone was the carefully polite of holding her emotions fully in check. 

Gearshift's hand shifted on his Deece at the sight of his General gone frozen and pale, breath high in his lungs and shallow (and when that was obvious through Jedi robes and armor there was a problem). Somehow, the General knew her, and the knowing _hurt_. His General -- who never showed pain even when he had bones shattered -- was so pale, and his ghost-eyes had darkened so much with pain that they were about the shade of the 501st's blue. Maybe they should kill her, before she could hurt the General any more. 

He glanced to his brothers, and found the same thought and determination in their stances, the tilts of their heads. If she made another _move_... 

Tahl tipped her head, changing the angle to get a better listening pose. "I am not placing your voice, good sir," she said softly, as the pain in the Force only deepened. Who was this, that knew her, and she could not place? 

Dark's jaw tensed while Punch wondered just how quickly he could handle the matter. His General was not supposed to be hurt! It was against 212th regs!

That hurt in an entirely different way, but it kicked part of his mind back into actually working, too. He managed to get a few more steps, swallowing against the hammering beat of his heart up in his throat. He did sound different now than he had at... fifteen or sixteen, the latest Master Tahl could have seen him. 

"...you don't know me, Master?" he asked, finding words even as he finally realized what that flash of protective fury from his men might evoke and sharply signed _no_. 

He was not having her hurt because his men overreacted to his shock. He couldn't fail her like that and let her be hurt again. Not while he was breathing. "Really? Have I changed so much?" 

Tahl reached deeper into the Force, chasing the familiar, finding it wrapped in so much pain. The voice… the voice was steady and calm in its own way, well-trained to speaking around emotions that might get in the way. The presence, though, that was key, and she let it steep into her awareness, sifting it against the marks of those Jedi she had known through her life.

Glimpses of a boy, laughing and bright, smudged by dirt and trying not to cry with frustration, a boy curled up on a couch with her own padawan…

"Obi-Wan? Little Obi-Wan, and yet your voice! It's not cracking!" She took a step forward, hand rising, turned outward, as she let the request show on her own face, needing to 'see' him more clearly. It was impossible, as she knew her young friend and his Master were away to negotiate some trade agreement.

'Little Obi-Wan'? Gearshift blinked, easing down out of contemplating killing this woman from two things. One was the 'Master', which meant that the strange woman was _jetii_ and therefore a commanding officer, and the other... the more important one was the soft, affectionate teasing in the woman's voice. 

When an instructor sounded like that, it meant it would hurt him more for her to die. But... little? The _General_?!

Obi-Wan managed, half-amused, to say, "I'm really not _that_ little any more, Master," as he moved into her space, lifting his head to press his cheekbone into her hand. "Even if I am very, very confused at how you're possibly _here_. Don't be too surprised..." 

"I am surprised enough at you being an adult." She felt the beard, making her smile brightly. "Well, it's fuller than the mess Qui keeps." As the affectionate name came out and Obi-Wan flinched, growing more pained, she took a deep breath. "Me being gone, dear one, doesn't hurt nearly as much as knowing you've lost him.

"And yes, it is quite evident that I must have done something wrong and gotten killed, by your reaction."

A dead woman was standing in front of them? Gearshift felt his fingers flick uncertainly, watching the woman with her hand on the General's face. She was _jetii_ , a Master even (and therefore a General), but he didn't know her, she didn't know them, and she was brushing her fingertips all across his face, his skin. Seeing him that way, he thought, but it was shocking to see. 

At least it distracted him from the way his General had drawn in around yet more pain. Or mostly distracted him. 

He had forgotten, Obi-Wan realized past the flinch he hadn't been able to stop and the wrenching fist of pain in his chest, just how astute Master Tahl should be. "...far be it from me to argue with you on that, Master." 

Yes, yes she _had_ , and he wasn't about to tell her she hadn't. Everyone had a share of blame in that debacle, but she had gotten herself right into it! 

He couldn't think about the grief her soft, affectionate words had ripped open, couldn't answer her quiet sympathy. Not in front of his men, not where -- not when he had to keep at least the _appearance_ of composure and discipline. "Gearshift, Punch, Dark, we should be pulling you back in soon. I'm going to take Master Tahl back into base." 

"Yes sir."

Tahl moved unerringly to the speeder but waited for him to mount. Then she could better judge how to get on. Her arms went around his waist and she tucked her face into his shoulder.

"Ready, Obi-Wan."

"Yes, Master," he said softly, trusting that she knew she was secure, and he kicked the bike back into motion. The concentration the bike required (at the speeds he was using it) gave him something to focus on that wasn't his confusion and heartsickness -- no matter how much he should not be _having_ those emotions in the first place. 

He'd grieved for her, let his grief go into the Force, moved on with his life as they all must... why did it feel like he'd never managed to release it at all? 

She could feel his pain, wished she could alleviate it. She needed more information, needed to understand this strangeness. Maybe she could fix it if she could get home to her time?

It was a quick trip back, and he parked the bike in with the others, waiting for her to slip off of it. He dismounted and offered her an arm, as he would for Satine or anyone else he was escorting, while saying, "I need to make sure nothing's gone wrong in my absence, Master, but then we should -- Force willing -- be able to actually talk for a bit, privately. I have a tent... somewhere, after all." 

"At the center of camp, sir," his motorpool sergeant helpfully said.

Tahl had to smile. "Thank you, Obi-Wan." She did take his arm. It was an uneven ground, full of noise, and unfamiliar.

"Thank you, Nines," Obi-Wan replied, half-sighing at the commentary but mostly amused, moving towards the command post at a quick if easy pace. Master Tahl had been excellent at navigating her way around, but with most of the legion on the ground (if spread out in the pincer movement that had worked so well this time) and the -- it looked and sounded like retreating -- Separatists still in earshot, there was a _lot_ of noise in her way. 

"Two steps up, Master," he advised quietly, before calling to Cody, "Commander, how are we doing?" 

"That last clanker company with their General made it out, sir," Cody answered, binocs in his hand dropping away from his visor as he turned to look at his General (and promptly decided he did not like his coloration at all), "but they're pulling away fast. I held everyone here, do we pursue now, or hold the defenses for the city?" 

"Hold, Cody, as we are expecting reinforcement from General Secura. If they get theirs before we get ours, I want us well fortified to hold out." He was not risking his men on an aggressive push.

Tahl kept her surprise at hearing Secura. Did he really mean the little Twi'lek?

"Yes, General." Good, he had been in tune with what his General would want. He looked to see if the woman Gearshift had found was with him, and blinked. She was _tall_ , startlingly so, and her coloring was... very different. She wasn't quite looking at anyone, it seemed, but there was a thoughtful, sharp expression on her face. 

Obi-Wan moved, looking over the display, his eyes narrowing as he considered their positions, what was needed. "Pull the men back in to these positions, Cody," he said, gesturing, at the display, "less one recon squad to keep an eye out on our flanks. I need to speak to Master Tahl privately, but if anything changes, interrupt." 

"Yes sir." A jetii? Where had she come from?

Tahl let Obi-Wan guide her once he was done with his commander. It was curious that Mandalorian warriors were answering to Jedi, given history. 

Obi-Wan could feel her curiosity, her sharp mind trying to puzzle out answers she wouldn't -- couldn't -- reach, but he stayed quiet on the trip through the camp, other than responding to the greetings from the support staff and the ones holding the center of the defense. When they reached his tent (really a pop-up geodesic dome, more than a tent), he tapped a code in, frowned at it being the wrong one, and tapped again. The door seal uncoupled, and he said, "Watch the lintel, Master, Anakin is always forgetting to duck and knocking himself one, and he's nearly your height." 

"Anakin?" She used her hand to find it and ducked down. Inside, she let him guide her to a seat while hating her need for a non-existent staff. 

"My padawan," Obi-Wan answered, "well, former padawan, as he is sometimes quick to remind me. Who was determined to equal -- equal my Master." He swallowed against the ache saying it brought up in him, "Though he didn't quite make it." 

"Obi-Wan, how can I best help you?" she asked gently. "I can't stand causing you such pain. You have always been dear to me." Tahl had been so thankful that he had drawn Qui-Gon out of his shell that Xanatos had caused.

He sat down next to her, breathing in, and out, trying to hold steady. "I'm sorry, Master. I should have more control than this, but seeing you... remembering everything, it -- " he pushed his hand through his hair, winced as the gauntlet tugged, and pulled both of them off, sending them with a flick of the Force to a built-in table. "Has stirred things up, I suppose." 

"It's understandable. I'd be much the same if my master or a dear friend reappeared from the dead." She reached for his hand. "You and Qui were so close, despite my friend's nature," she said with that knowing for how irritating Qui-Gon could get in his stubborn crusade. "Can you spare a way to send me to the Temple, make the Council deal with me?"

He'd missed the way she spoke of him, all of her love in that nickname, her acceptance of his -- 

\-- his fingers tightened on hers at that idea without his consent, not wanting her to go again, to leave him again. "If that's what you wish, Master, I will get a ship out of my Admiral's hands, and send a _vod_ to pilot you back. Though most of the Council is in the field, honestly. It's rare for more than a third of us to be on Coruscant at once, and half hasn't happened in... at least six months." 

"Well, it's not my wish but I also don't want you to feel obligated to cope with me. I wish to know all I can about the history of this conflict. Then I will need to learn if I can find a way to my proper time." She squeezed his hand. "Because the Force must wish the situation to change. And I am not as good a warrior as I once was." She knew her limitations, much as they chafed.

His hand shook in hers at the 'it's not my wish' ... but then there was that last, the very thought of her being able to _change_ things, to -- to stop even part of it, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. 

"I -- do you truly think such a thing is possible, Master? To change time... but then, moving _through_ time is just as unlikely, I suppose. And I don't -- how could I feel obligated, when it's you, Master Tahl? You took care of me so often. As to learning about this _kriffing_ war... I think I know more than most others. Or at least, was closer to it." 

"Then you must teach me. The padawan becomes the master in truth," she teased. "However, I believe you should find a meal. I know you probably kept his bad habits." She spared him a smile at those words; she had forever been after them to eat. "As to obligated, it is because I watched over you from time to time that I fear imposing.

"As I do not wish my Bant to be hurt, as my presence hurts you." She refused to think her padawan was not still alive.

Bant. 

He hadn't even thought of her yet, of what this would mean to her. If Master Tahl stayed any length of time, he... should he comm her, ask her to leave her travelling between units to come to them? Could he inflict this on her, knowing that her Master would leave again, if she found some way to make it back to her own time? 

Could he _not_? If the positions were reversed, if she had somehow found Master Qui-Gon, and had not sent for him... he might never be capable of forgiving her. Un-Jedi, wildly inappropriate, but... to have had a chance to see his Master alive again (to be able to tell him exactly what he thought of his _stupid decision-making_ ) and not, because she tried to spare him the pain? No, he had to call Bant, and sooner rather than not. But not yet. 

"Cody will undoubtedly send someone with a tray, as soon as we're fully in a holding position and someone activates the kitchens," he said about the food. His Commander had opinions about feeding him that were... much like Master Tahl's, actually. That was a connection he hadn't needed to make, given the wildly different nature of their relationships.

"I will do my best to inform you, Master... and ask your forgiveness in advance for how much parts of the tale will likely reveal how much I struggle with portions of the Code." He would try to keep himself stable, to tell her plainly, but -- he already knew he was likely to fail at that.

"You wouldn't be Qui's if you didn't," Tahl pointed out. "He makes a habit of questioning it, after all. And very well. As long as you do eat." It pleased her that the men took care of him. They had radiated protective concern. "Mandalorian soldiers under Jedi generals?"

She had meant that only as a compliment, had been acknowledging the way Master Qui-Gon had pushed and prodded at things... she didn't, couldn't, know how much he had _needed_ the Code, its structure, its assurances, in order to hold his idiotic heart at bay. She hadn't meant that to hurt him at all, he told himself sharply. "I will eat, Master," he promised. 

As to the _vod'e_... "They are, and yet are not quite, Mandalorian," he answered. "But if you will let me, Master, I will reach that part of the story in time? It -- won't make much sense without the context." 

"Of course, Obi-Wan. I am terrible about being curious." Tahl squeezed his hand gently. "I know you can tell me all I need to know properly. As your reports never left out key things."

"You're very generous, Master," Obi-Wan replied, "and I remember your curiousity. That they are who they are, and love the Republic as they do, is... near miraculous. But... first things first. I'm... fifteen still, for you? Or just into sixteen. Qui-Gon and I haven't left for Mandalore yet. Yes?" 

"No. You and he are negotiating trade rights between two mining consortiums claiming planets that were abused by Xanatos's company." Tahl settled into her chair, full attention on him.

Obi-Wan nodded... he remembered that, and now knew when she was from. "...I don't remember Bant worrying over a disappearance then, Master, but then... if you had the information I must tell you, the world would be very, very different -- and you might not have gotten yourself killed on us before the end of the year!" 

His eyes dropped, instantly, at hearing his own tone, "I'm sorry, Master. I don't mean to -- "

Tahl shifted to where she could get an arm around him. "I take it that I was particularly stupid, leading to that." She could bet it had been her pride; she hated being seen as incapable. "Don't tell me about my death. But know I will try to be less inflexible.

"Do tell me how we became embroiled in this war."

"...perhaps not stupid, Master," Obi-Wan answered, "but... too trusting of the wrong people." He ached to tell her, but only leaned into her arm instead. "It began -- so far as I can tell, though the maneuvering by the Sith must be much older than this -- on Naboo, when I was almost twenty-five and still, mm, mostly happily at my Master's side. We'd had a rather bad jaunt on our last mission when Chancellor Valorum asked my Master to go see if he could straighten out a blockade by the Trade Federation of this mostly-insignificant Mid-rim world.

"It should have been fairly simple." 

"Should have been." Tahl's voice rippled with acknowledgment of simple missions gone awry for them. "Naboo is rather insignificant. Agriculture exports, and … energy. They have a natural energy source that is rather extensive, if a bit esoteric for production means, if I am remembering correctly."

Obi-Wan nodded, making a quiet noise to accompany it, as he folded his hands in his lap rather than fidget with them, studying them rather than watching Master Tahl's face. "My Master wished to speak to the Trade Federation Viceroy first, as they were the aggressive party in matters. We landed on the primary capital ship and were escorted to a meeting room. Something didn't feel right... and then they attempted to kill us with poison gas at the same time they destroyed the courier ship and her crew." 

"Oh…" Tahl's quiet noise indicated her dismay for the crew. "Poison gas against a veteran Jedi team isn't a good tactic." She shifted in her seat, drawing back so she wasn't imposing in his space.

"No, not at all," Obi-Wan agreed, even as he followed her movement before he knew it. "We evaded the droids, and found our way to a nexus of activity... which happened to be the readying of their dropship-transports for an entire invasion force. We stowed away," that, at least, had been vaguely amusing, "and thus reached the surface. 

"By the time I had been able to rejoin him, he had found yet **another** stray to adopt, though in that case it was more that Jar-Jar declared himself under life-debt and would not be dissuaded." He shook his head slightly, remembering his frustration with the Gungan -- who still managed to frustrate him far too often. Though he had matured a great deal. 

Tahl contented herself with moving a hand to his hair then, idly playing with it as a relaxation technique for herself, as she knew she was not going to cope with news of Qui's death. Not that Obi-Wan needed to see and feel that, given his own lingering grief on the matter. "So attuned to the Living Force."

"So attuned to _something_ ," Obi-Wan muttered, shifting to lean into the hand in his hair a little. "Between the two of us, Jar-Jar decided that yes, he could take us to the safety he knew of, his home city. Do you know anything about the Gungan people? Their underwater culture?" 

"No. They seem to be a mere footnote in the entry I can recall about Naboo." Tahl would have rolled her eyes once upon a time; now it was a click of her tongue in her teeth. "Evidently a human-centric writer handled that one."

"The Gungans might like that," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, making a dry noise of his own. "They don't care much for... upworlders. They have... incredible cities, underwater. Force-fields of massive sophistication, klick-and-more wide bubbles, strung together in such complicated groupings -- incredible. It took... some discussion, but they agreed to loan us one of their vessels to make a trip through the Abyssal Labyrinth to Theed, and Qui-Gon managed to bring Jar-Jar along as a navigator. 

"There are entirely too many very, very large predators in the Naboo waters, fresh and salt alike!" Obi-Wan told her with a shake of his head. 

"Did you get chased again by something with too many teeth?" Tahl asked him, lips quirking in a half-smile.

"Oh yes," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding quickly, "and rescued from it by something with even _bigger_ teeth!" 

"I am certain you enjoyed that experience," she teased.

"Not particularly," he replied, shaking his head, "but we did make it to Theed in time to slip into the capital, intercept the droids moving the Queen and her handmaidens, and convince that _incredibly_ stubborn fourteen-year-old that she would be best served asking for aid in the Senate rather than an internment camp." He paused, considered everything after, and said darkly, "We were at least partially right on that." 

"I've never met a stubborn fourteen year old in my life," she said, deadpan.

"Not one like Queen Amidala," Obi-Wan answered honestly. "It was... something of a battle, escaping, and our hyperdrive was badly damaged and leaking. We had to find a planet that we could set down and make repairs on -- it's a hell of a thing, Master, when _Tatooine_ appears the safest option." 

Tahl sucked in a breath. "Hutt territory. And most non-humans there are immune to the mind trick," Tahl commented. "It would be a rough planet to acquire what was needed, quickly."

Obi-Wan made a sudden, amused noise at her assessment. "Oh... you knew Toydarians are immune? My Master... either didn't, had forgotten, or was too annoyed with the situation we were in to recall it. Yes, it was rough, but... at least the Hutts weren't looking for her." 

"I can see that as an advantage. And he likely forgot, because… no, maybe that didn't come up in one of our shared classes," she mused.

Obi-Wan nodded, leaning against her steadying hand for a moment. "Either way, that the Toydarian shopkeeper that had the parts wouldn't take Republic credits presented us with quite a problem. I'd stayed with the ship," entirely unwillingly, he didn't say, "to see what I could do with it, but Jar-Jar had insisted he had to go, and Artoo -- R2-D2 -- had the technical readout from the ship of what was needed. My Master, leaving with a stray and a droid, no surprise really. But the real thorn in his side was that the Queen had insisted one of her 'handmaidens' go along, to see this new world... and probably to keep an eye on my Master. They'd... had an argument or two, en route.

"Oh, yes, one of her _handmaidens_. That _woman_ and her stubborn reckless streak!" 

Tahl had to laugh softly. "Oh, you sound as if you are half-infatuated with her, when you use that tone, dear one."

"Not I!" Obi-Wan said instantly, shaking his head. The thought was entirely startling, and definitely impossible. "I admire her, but I leave more than that to my padawan -- as I've certainly never been able to convince him otherwise! One of these days, he's going to be _too_ obvious, in front of someone else, and I'm going to lose him. ...but that's an entirely different story, and not relevant yet. 

"So my Master must have made an impression on Anakin, because he followed them -- wound up saving Jar-Jar from his clumsiness getting him pummeled by a Dug -- and convinced them to come back to his quarters with him, ahead of the simoon. Not," he murmured thoughtfully, "that Ani probably had to do much convincing, after my Master noticed how much Force he carries around with him." 

"A strong candidate, I take it, as you had him for your padawan," Tahl surmised. "And Qui-Gon was forever finding unusual lifeforms to befriend; seems your Gungan friend was intent on living up to that."

Right, he would take those in reverse. "Oh yes. Jar-Jar is... I have never met a more clumsy being, more able to damage or wreck things... but somehow, whatever mess he causes is _exactly_ what is needed for a situation." He shook his head, still baffled at that. 

"Strong," Obi-Wan murmured, "is not even vaguely the word for it. Anakin is frighteningly powerful, and was even then, at just over nine -- yes, I _know_ \-- " he agreed with her startled hiss, her momentary grip of his shoulder. "Far, far too old, but... Master, when Qui-Gon checked his blood, he had a higher midichlorian count than Master Yoda does now! 

"And he was a junkyard slave in that hellish dese -- if I'm fifteen, he's... he's not even born yet, oh, _Force_ , Master!" His padawan not yet born, his mother -- his mother alive, somewhere on that infernal world. 

"I take it, if we get me back, one of the things I am doing is finding the parents and making certain the boy is in the Temple?" Tahl asked.

Obi-Wan jerked around, his eyes locking on Master Tahl's face as a wild, desperate hope hit him. "His mother, yes. I -- Master, please don't be as foolish as I was, and leave her there? ...though if Anakin goes to the Temple at an age he _should_ have, he wouldn't be -- so very himself, about her?" 

He might not be so very himself about a great many things, if he did not grow to Initiate age in those deplorable conditions, actually... For some reason, that thought flashed shame through him, and he did not know why. 

Tahl stroked a hand over his hair gently. "You'll need to give me as many details as you know, then, so I can find her and relocate her. If anyone wants to know why I am acquiring a slave, I'll just use Windu's 'I had a Vision' and be done with it."

"Mos Espa," Obi-Wan answered, "and her name is Shmi Skywalker. Anakin said once that he was three when Watto won them from a Hutt," he had to pause to think, "Gardulla, that was the Hutt's name. One of the females of Jabba's clan. Quite a difficult piece of work, too, but she's stupid when she gambles, which is most of the time." 

"Useful to know," Tahl said, filing it away in her memory. She would probably get Adi to go with her; no one could out-bluff her friend. "I'll see her free, and take care that the boy is in Jedi care, my dear one."

"He loves mechanics, and flight, and is often closer to the droids he builds and befriends than he is to people," Obi-Wan said, feeling relieved and oddly uneasy all at once. "But I think I was telling you how things went?" 

And would not go, now, if Master Tahl could make it home... 

"I need the key… shatterpoints? To borrow Mace's term, even if I am very glad not to have that power." Tahl smirked a bit at the term. "Tell me the key points that moved us to war, personnel, that sort of thing."

"It all ties to this," Obi-Wan answered, smiling at her smirk, her amusement... and the gift she was trying to give him, of not telling everything. But it -- even the parts he didn't understand (Dooku) -- seemed to all tie to those awful days of flight and pain and grief. "My Master won both Ani's freedom and the parts because Anakin won the -- oh, whatever the Tatooine podrace is called, something Huttese. He had brought the parts out, gone back for Anakin... and was attacked on the way back. I was in such a snit I didn't even know he was in danger until Ani ran aboard yelling..." 

Tahl let her surprise ripple out. "You, unaware of Qui? I must say, he had to have been a superb bantha rump to get you that far," she told him, knowing how infuriating her best friend could be.

Obi-Wan snorted, nodding almost despite himself. _That_ was the truth. "We went to get him... and for that _once_ in his life, my Master knew when to run! We had no idea who that being had been, then. Fangs and golden-eyes and a ring of horns, crimson skin with a myriad of black tattoos, as tall as my Master... and a lightsaber just as crimson as his skin that he was as good with as any Guardian."

"A red lightsaber? And golden eyes?" She felt a pulse of fear; as an Archivist, through most of her life, Tahl knew more about the history of the Order than many. "Though, I am glad Qui-Gon did learn that lesson."

Obi-Wan felt that flare of fear and turned his head again, nodding solemnly. "Yes, Master. The Sith have survived, and returned to plague us. That monster... some Sith foresight must have told him we would go back. We went to Coruscant first, to plead Naboo's case -- and for Master Qui-Gon to report on his encounter. And to -- be very himself," he decided on, trying to avoid saying how much it had hurt, "about that Anakin should be accepted, despite everything. 

"The Council was... not pleased. And I -- " 

Her lips twisted in a scowl. "That insensitive oaf. That boorish pain in a bantha rump! No, I was right earlier! He is a bantha rump!

"What, did he make demands? Did he believe the boy to be the fabled Chosen One?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said softly, "he did." 

Master Tahl's instant, angry defense, the way her posture and her words snapped with her vexation... it was soothing, more than he had realized anything could be. "I still don't know if he was right, or not, though Anakin is _incredible_. The Queen, while we were dealing with the Council, had made her case to the Senate -- or at least attempted to. Did you know the Trade Federation has so many friends in the Banking Guild and the rest of the Senate that even testimony they'd tried to assassinate a pair of Jedi and a sitting Queen didn't get anywhere with removing the Viceroy from power?" 

"Oh really?" Tahl's lips thinned fully. She was going to have to discuss that with Adi as well. "I know just who to sic on that. She does enjoy meddling."

Obi-Wan wondered who for a moment, then realized, and his hands fisted in his robes as he remembered losing Master Adi, because of Maul and his brother, his heart clenching. "...yes, she does. And maybe if she has a ten-year head start, she can do something about it." 

And perhaps even not die because Opress was so damned much stronger. "The Queen saw there would be nothing but delay on Coruscant, no swift aid for her people... so she determined that she was going back herself. We went along." 

"Headstrong. I like that." Tahl sighed softly. "But putting too much headstrong near Qui-Gon leads to … difficulties."

"They... seemed to have come to an agreement about things, actually," Obi-Wan replied, shrugging slightly. "She came up with quite an ingenious plan, once she had the agreement of the Gungan people to aid her in ridding the planet of the droids -- they had invaded the Gungan cities while we were gone, and the Bosses were not pleased. They agreed to engage the droids from behind their shields, distracting everyone from her attack on the Palace to retake it, and the Viceroy. While some of her fighters attacked the control ship broadcasting the instructions to the B1s. I _wish_ they still had that weakness, it would make life so much easier..." 

"Oh?" Tahl tipped her head, then shook it. "No, not pertinent at this time. Go on, Obi-Wan."

"Mm. We had intended to go with the Queen, to defend her. We made it into the Palace, into the hangar bays, even... when the Sith -- Darth Maul, his name is -- appeared again. Qui-Gon had just told Anakin to hide in one of the fighters," he remembered, his voice going a little distant. "The Queen took her people another way, while we engaged him. 

"I'd noticed the haft was strangely long -- and found out why soon enough. It wasn't a saber at all, Master. It was a lightstaff." 

Tahl made a disgusted noise. "The idea of our Sentinels' weapons being perverted to such is disgusting enough. Having spent time as one when I was a younger Knight… they are vicious weapons to defend against."

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed quietly, "they are. As I've had far too many chances to learn. -- if you want to expand your vocabulary of Zabrak profanity and superstition, Master Tahl, mention to Master Koth or Kolar that the Sith have acquired one of their species' Dathomiri kin. A Nightbrother before he became Sith, at that. We finally determined that was where he came from, anyway."

"Dathomir? That…. that is somewhat more terrifying, given what little I can recall of why that planet is forbidden to Jedi." She shook her head. "And I will take your word for it, rather than upset one of them."

He chuckled, quiet and weak, and nodded. "Probably wise. And oh, the Nightsisters are worse than the 'Brothers, I more than agree with you there! It was.. an ugly fight. He drew us into the reactor, where his _kriffing_ speed and agility worked so well for him. I got thrown, fell several levels, and Qui-Gon -- 

"HOW many times did he yell at me about rushing ahead of him?! _How_ many times did he tell me we're stronger together?! How -- " he cut himself off, shaking his head and swallowing, "I -- I'm sorry, Master." 

Tahl lowered her face, bringing her hands back to her lap, clasping one another as she struggled to accept that here and now, the man she had grown up with, constantly competing with, and… and more… was dead, because of his own stupidity. That was a basic mistake to make.

Obi-Wan swallowed, his own pain forgotten at the feeling and sight of hers, and he shifted, twisting to offer her his arms. "That -- was hardly how I should have told you that, Master..." 

"No… it's oddly comforting, to see you express yourself as quickly and emotionally as he does… did, from this side of things," she said, not really doing much more than shake her head at the idea of comfort. She was a Jedi, life-long, and knew better than to let emotion take the upperhand with her heart.

She wondered if Qui-Gon had ever known… but that wasn't the right question for the padawan. 

"Tell me what happened from there, that led to full war," she said firmly, locking down her emotions, mostly, to concentrate on what was important.

Obi-Wan nodded, making himself focus. "Right. While we were facing that... Anakin -- a nine-year-old boy who'd never been in a starship -- had tried to help the Naboo soldiers, 'accidentally' ignited the engines, and the ship's autopilot took him up into the Trade Federation's capital ship, where he promptly destroyed it. 

"They allowed me to take Anakin on -- apparently killing a Sith is a traditional reason for a Knighting, if you go back far enough? -- and things went to the Courts and the Senate and ostensibly settled down. Or at least, we thought they had. I... have more bad news, Master, and you're going to be very angry about it." 

Tahl started to protest that she didn't get 'very' angry or any other emotion. However, this was Obi-Wan and she didn't usually lie to him. She had a temper under her stubbornness, and he knew it. "I think I have tight rein on my inappropriate emotions," she said instead.

"My Master's Master withdrew completely from the Order, after Qui-Gon's death. Retreated to Serreno, and took an interest in both the planet and... Republic, politics. About seven years in, he became one of the leaders of a Separatist movement.

"A Separatist movement that because more and more aggressive in its posturing about intending to leave -- while all the while he was Falling! To the very being -- of whatever gender or not Sidious happens to be -- that designed the murder of the only padawan he ever had!" 

...All right, so he might have some serious anger issues of his own on this front. 

Tahl hissed a profanity in the Noori language she had painstakingly learned during a moment of rebellion against her Jedi life. She then shook her head. "Prideful, arrogant, cold man, all our padawan days. Nothing ever quite good enough, and Qui falling over himself at the rare 'not bad' to escape him!"

Obi-Wan half-blinked in surprise, taken aback by both the profanity and the assessment (by the idea of his Master 'falling over himself' at _anything_ ), before he nodded once. "He is all of those, and more. He pretended to an idealism that too many still believe of him," to his profound frustration, but opinions once acquired were difficult to change, "a desire for an escape from the Senate's endless stupidity, nothing more. But some of the systems and conglomerates he cozened into his movement were not ones the Republic Senate wished to lose. A very militaristic portion of the Senate became... quite loud in insisting they could not be allowed to leave, and that whatever force was needed to retain them should be raised. 

"One of the loudest voices opposed to _that_ idiocy was Naboo's now-former Queen. She had had some influence through the previous Senator, and when she stepped down as Queen, she was almost immediately swept into the Senate. She fought the Military Creation Act passionately for over a year, gaining herself some powerful enemies. Also, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation passionately wants her dead, along with most of the rest of the Separatists. 

"I couldn't understand that, at first. Why would the _other_ Separatist leaders want to kill the woman trying to convince the Senate not to take action against them, to let them go? It escaped me completely, I admit." 

Tahl snorted. "It seems the Republic's warhawks would be more at fault, to shut her up and pin the blame on their enemies," she idly said.

"Mm, I did have that thought," Obi-Wan agreed, nodding. He had wondered that, once or twice, if some of the troubles she found weren't coming from exactly that source. "Just before the MCA was to be voted on, she'd had to return to Naboo. On her return to Coruscant, one of her handmaidens -- Corde, if I remember correctly -- was assassinated in the Senatorial regalia on the landing pad. Word had actually reached the Senate that she had died, when she herself appeared to tell the Senate exactly what she thought of the attempt on her life and the response that had been building. 

"The Chancellor decided that she needed more protection than her guards, after the attempt, and as she knew Anakin and I better than any other Jedi, we got the job." 

It had been a terrible idea, had had exactly the result he had feared at Anakin's delight at the orders, flustered behavior in the turbolift, and instantly aggressive response to danger to her... but it had been the Chancellor's will, and he very much liked the Senator, himself. 

"Guardian duty is not what I would expect for you, with your way of words," Tahl told him. "But sometimes things do take a different shape."

"It took all my way with words to get her off the ceiling about being babysat," Obi-Wan replied with a half-laugh, shaking his head t the memory. "Especially with Anakin taking the threat to her so badly. They tried again that night, a droid carrying kouhun insects managed to find a hole in her security. Between Anakin and I, we managed to corner the bounty hunter who'd sent the droid, but the bounty hunter was killed before she could tell us anything useful." 

The precise details of that chase didn't matter in the large scale, after all, he hardly needed to tell her all of that. "The method of death, a strangely made projectile dart, was unfamiliar to me, and the Archives were... less than helpful. So I went to see if Dex had any ideas." 

"Dex… oh, the Besalisk that took over our favorite diner," Tahl said, placing the name. She hadn't gone there often since losing her sight; too much noise and life all around to make her comfortable navigating.

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, smiling at the thought of his friend's boisterous nature, his quick delight. "He only took a moment to recognize the thing. A Kaminoan saberdart, he called it. Very surprised to see one on Coruscant, as they're a reclusive people by nature... and then there's the... nature of their business to consider. 

"As he put it, they're 'cloners, and damn good ones, too'." 

"Cloners." As he said it, the similarity of voices snapped into focus. "Your men are clones? Who in their insanity thought that was a good idea? Those poor men!"

"...Master Sifo-Dyas, without the knowledge or consent of anyone else in the Order," Obi-Wan answered, "though I have had reason to worry that somehow, Dooku is involved. Master Dyas, after all, would not have had the funds to even begin such a project. 

"And yes. They are -- and despite their Kaminoan trainers they are the _best_ men I have _ever_ met!" She would not speak against them, not in front of him. Quin was enough of that! "They deserve _worlds_ better than they have had from us, deserve so much more..." 

"Exactly! OH! Sifo's always been a bit shy of common sense once his visions get going! To set men up to be created and given over to make war?! It's abhorrent!" Tahl's voice was sharp and fierce. "It's a damn good thing there are men like you, Obi-Wan, to try and keep them safe!"

"I do my best, Master," Obi-Wan said softly, dipping his head. As though it wasn't the fault of his stupidity that so many of them had died in the first battle of the war... He shoved that aside, hard, and took a breath. "It is abhorrent... and so few of them realize or accept that at all. They live, whole and entire, for the Republic, for us," he shook his head, his mouth quirking at that tendency of his men, "and for each other, thank the _Force_. 

"They put such faith in us, Master... in their _jetii_ , that it's -- " 

"Overwhelming?" Tahl sighed softly. "I do hope certain Jedi have been kept clear of them," she said in a darker tone. "Egos and maniacal flaws don't need that kind of assistance." She knew that some of her peers were a step or three from hubristic notions, and didn't want to see them Fall or hurt other beings.

"Very overwhelming," Obi-Wan agreed, shaking his head. "...there are a few that have -- not taken to the War at all well, and cannot effectively lead our men... but we need every Jedi who _can_ , doing so. There aren't anywhere near enough of us to protect the Republic as it stands." He raked his fingers through his hair, sighing. 

"I found myself expected on Kamino, when I arrived -- remind me to complain to you of Master Nu, later? Or at least, a Jedi had been expected. They'd begun to think they had been forgotten -- and I am sickened, yet, by what that could have meant for my men. If they had decided -- Never mind, Master. I arrived in time, and that is all there is to that. They were surprised to hear that we had lost Master Sifo-Dyas, but so very pleased to show off what they had accomplished for us." 

Tahl made a face at the mention of the older Jedi. She was just as pleased now as she had been the day she got the appointment to the Archives that Jocasta Nu's inflexibility had not taken sway on that sensitive area of the Jedi Temple. She was one with Dooku on being arrogant and standoffish.

"I asked, as they showed me around, who the template for all of these men had been, and was introduced in short order to... none other than Jango Fett, and his young clone-son, Boba. Once I had time to think, to place that name, I was incredibly confused by how that man would ever have come to be attached to a project of the Jedi, or the Republic. I would have thought he would hate us too much -- but he was being very well-paid. He had been paid for something else, though. The armor I saw in his apartment was the set the assassin had used on Coruscant, to get away from us.

"Master Yoda asked me to convince Jango to come to Coruscant, to answer questions. He -- did not oblige, in the least. Fighting Mandalorians in full _beskar'gam_ is still not enjoyable, especially with a fully-rigged ship providing support, and he succeeded in getting away from me. Again." 

"Fighting Mandalorians any time is difficult, let alone with their armor," Tahl agreed.

Obi-Wan hummed fervent agreement at that, pausing to study Master Tahl's face for a moment. She didn't recognize the name, any more than he had at first... but the events on Galidraan were only two years in the past, for her, not twelve as they had been for him when he came face to face with Jango Fett for the first time. At the same time, no-one had wanted to talk about that disaster. "Yes. Fett... was the survivor of Galidraan, and if I'd remembered that sooner, maybe I'd have realized what a terrible trap I was walking into. 

"Because I tracked his ship to Geonosis -- the foundry world, not far from Tatooine? -- where the Separatist leaders were attempting to hammer out an agreement between themselves about how they were going to go to war. Viceroy Gunray was still insisting that he would sign nothing until Senator Amidala's head was on his desk, the Banking Clan and Techno-Union Army were trying to push the others to sign more quickly, planning an attack... and there was the bounty hunter I'd been following." He shook his head, because that made no sense even after all this time. Jango Fett and Dooku in the same place, and Jango had brought the boy there? 

"I withdrew to make a report, could only reach Anakin... and was captured by rather more droidekas than I care to face again. It was not a pleasant discussion, with the Geonosian leader, or his Separatist friends. Master Dooku failed rather badly to convince me he would like to help me -- and _dared_ say my Master would have any part in what he was doing!" 

Tahl hissed and drew herself up stiffly. "Qui never!" she snapped at that.

"I may have told him the same, in rather more words," Obi-Wan agreed, so satisfied by her response. "I would not listen to him, so he decided he was 'helpless' to prevent my execution as a spy. The Geonosians prefer death by giant beasts for their criminals, apparently. I was trying to figure out how I was going to escape the packed crowd when the proceedings were interrupted -- by my padawan and the Senator he was supposed to be protecting _also_ being brought in to be chained for the beasts!" 

Tahl gave an amused snicker. "Like Master, like padawan?"

"Master..." Obi-Wan protested, but then he had to sigh. He certainly had rushed into more than a few situations over the years when his Master was in danger, as Master Tahl obviously clearly remembered. "In that at least, I suppose, yes, he is." 

Despite all of his failures, Anakin would move worlds to save him... which only made their inability to get along off of a battlefield more maddening. "In any case. It wasn't difficult to get free of the pillars, but the beasts were a bit difficult. And of course, the Geonosians did not wish to be denied their promised entertainment. They joined the fracas rather quickly. 

"Things weren't looking terribly well when Master Windu and two-hundred-some --" two-hundred nine, not counting himself, Mace, and Anakin, he knew, " --of the Order arrived. He had Dooku under his saber, it... it could have all been stopped then, but he chose to defend Anakin and I from Fett rather than strike..." 

"Because, under his bluster and snarl, Master Windu is, at heart, a Guardian," Tahl said gently. She had butted heads with the younger man once or twice, nowhere near as antagonistic to him as Qui, but she respected his commitment on a deep level.

Obi-Wan sighed heavily, leaning against Master Tahl's arm again. "So he is, Master. So he is." He should have protected the others, the innocents of the Republic and the Vod'e, more than _him_. "And so Count Dooku -- Darth Tyranus, to give him the title he so _richly_ now deserves -- set several battalions of droids on us. It was just this... tide, of beasts and droids and sand and blood... So many died, Master," his voice had sunk to something too small, too openly wounded. "Of all of them brought... perhaps thirty were still alive when we were hemmed shoulder to shoulder? 

"If Master Yoda hadn't arrived with the men when he did... I don't know if any of us could have left that infernal pit alive." 

Tahl reached and settled her arm around him firmly, even as her spirit quailed inside her. So many. And Jedi were never a numerous bunch, barely able to meet demands for protectors and negotiators.

"So obviously we need to get me home so I can catch your master by the ear, and us go beard Dooku in his lair… I always did want to take that … person to task! Leaves a bad taste in my mouth with all of his cold airs."

Obi-Wan turned and burrowed his head in against her shoulder, even as he managed a bare half-laugh and nodded. "As you say, Master. As you say. He leaves worse than that, with me. And also... you've got to cozen, bully, or manipulate every single Niman practitioner into picking up at least the deflection skill of Shii-Cho or Soresu, I don't care how! Niman is -- it's simply _not enough_." 

He had no faith, that even if Dooku could be stopped from falling, that some version of this war would not come, and it -- they could not be so unprepared. 

"That makes sense, as it's not truly meant to be a mass combat form," Tahl agreed. "So, prepare the Knights for war, if I can't stop the causes. Stop Dooku. Get Adi on the Senate and Trade Federation manipulations. Find Skywalker.

"Simple enough, if we can just figure out time travel," she said. "Although, if Bant never mentioned me being missing… perhaps the artifact is where it was before I catalogued it, as in your timeline, I apparently did not? And no, I am not unpacking that paradox!"

"Perhaps it is, Master -- and no, I do not think that I have the mindset for that kind of riddle," Obi-Wan agreed. "It can be a puzzle for Ki-Adi, once you are back and averting things. 

"In the weeks after that battle, even while Anakin was still recovering, the Separatists launched all-out attacks on the worlds closest to theirs, invading with their droids in numbers it has been almost impossible to repel. Even with every Jedi that _can_ present and holding a legion in the field, we no sooner free one planet than two more are invaded -- and some of the Separatist leaders are very fond of... conquest by eradication." 

"I will do all I can, dear one," she said softly. "Because the Force must have had a reason for me to arrive here other than to torment you with reminders."

"You are not a torment, Master," Obi-Wan answered, instant. "And I know that you will. I have all the faith in the worlds in that. I -- I don't know what to even say, or think, about our men. If Sidious finds another way to influence the Separatists, or keeps Maul, or... we will _need_ them -- but their creation, that they are seen as _property_ of the Republic," he spat the phrase, "is obscene. I can't image my life without Cody at my side, now, or Anakin without Rex, Plo without Wolffe, Aayla without Bly, Ki-Adi without Bacara, Luminara without Gree, Eeth without Lock... but they -- " 

"That is the quandary. And not one I feel capable of answering in this moment, other than to point out the you there, and the others, can never miss what was unknown," Tahl told him.

"No," Obi-Wan agreed quietly, "that is true." 

He would be... less, without Cody, the _Order_ would be less, without the faith and love and lessons their _vod'e_ taught them... but their creation was an obscenity that should never have been. The Republic, the Order, had to stand for better than that kind of slavery. They _had_ to, if it could be averted.

Tahl could feel the conflict on this issue. Was there an ethical way to create such an army and provide them a true choice? The need for defenders was possibly there, no matter what she attempted to avert it. Yet… free will and choice was a needed thing.

"You have no idea who the Master of the Sith is? Beyond the name Sidious?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, frustrated and aggrieved. "No. Dooku has implied, more than once, that it is someone in the Senate, but I don't trust anything he says a hundredth as far as I could throw him without the Force. Someone with great freedom to travel, it must be, to have acquired one apprentice from Dathomir... and someone with enough influence and renown to catch the Count's attention. But they are a complete mystery, to everyone's frustration." 

Tahl nodded at that. "Seeing as we, the Order, were convinced no Sith existed, whomever it was would have been able to move quite easily before that first revelation, though. As we would not have been looking. And we cannot rule out Coruscant as a base, given certain facts about the Temple itself."

That was a point, Obi-Wan thought, and nodded... before the mention of the Temple made him make a quiet, curious noise. He wasn't entirely certain of what she meant, but she would probably explain. 

Tahl heard the noise, placed it as curiosity, and sighed. "You do know the Temple is built on top of the site a Sith one had been, yes? That the reason those bottom levels are rarely used is because of lingering energies that refuse to be vanquished into the Force?"

Obi-Wan sighed at himself and thunked his hand into his forehead, shaking it. "I did know, of course, but I'd completely forgotten. That is definitely another point, Master. Not that anyone -- anyone but Anakin, at least -- has been able to See much of anything in well over a decade..." 

"Worrying, that is," Tahl said, unconsciously using Yoda-speak. "A powerful nemesis indeed." She would be glad to have the mystery, on one hand, as it was something she excelled at. Unravelling such things with detective skills appealed to her.

Obi-Wan nodded, leaning against her hold with a quiet sigh. "Yes, indeed. I wish I had more I could tell you on that front, but I simply don't."

"I'll do my best with what you gave me."

+++

Obi-Wan had been beyond relieved to have Aayla arrive quickly... and for Master Tahl's entirely unprompted decision to throw herself into helping Helix (so many more of his men lived, men that would have been lost before returned from the field). Aayla's attack made it fairly simple to finish off the Separatists -- the flesh-and-blood commanders had attempted to evacuate the planet, and Aayla's ship had destroyed them in the atmosphere -- and he left the business of returning the planet to something like normalcy to her. He had... another priority. 

As he was ensuring that the last of his men were aboard the _Negotiator_ , he sent an encoded text-only comm to Bant, telling her he was headed to Coruscant, how many hours the trip would be, and that she needed to meet him there. Master Tahl's worries over hurting her aside, Bant would never, ever forgive him if he did anything else. And Bant he had to live with. 

It took some time, but Bant finally came back to him with a promise to be there. She was currently filling in as Ti's assistant… which was superfluous, given that the cadets on up to the newest shineys for the units worshipped the ground their Togruta walked on.

Tahl spent much of the time of getting drawn back to the ship with Helix, as he had gone up on the first flight with the casualties, and she wanted to do all she could for the men. The more she did, the more she heard of 'The General', the more she understood why it pained Obi-Wan so much to think of not allowing them to exist.

Force take it all, but she felt a lump in her throat at the idea, given how vibrantly alive they all were.

Having gotten Bant's response, ensured that the very last transports up from the surface were successfully locked in place and offloaded, and that Aayla had things well in hand, Obi-Wan firmly kicked what he _wanted_ to do (namely, cozen Cody into spending time with him) and went to what he should do. Namely, making his way through the ship and down to medical to see if Helix needed another pair of Jedi hands. He paused to talk to each _vod_ he met in transit for a moment, making sure that each of them was as well as they could be -- and hating every time he saw the empty spaces next to batchmates that said one (or more) of them were gone, and the squad was far from accepting that yet. 

There were fewer of those than there could be, and he knew that was at least two thirds Master Tahl's doing, and yet again, he was grateful. 

He slipped inside, his eyes sweeping across the berths, stretching out to look for pain he might be able to aid. 

"Will you go sleep!" Tahl snapped at him as soon as his presence pinged on her awareness. Her clouded eyes turned toward him unerringly, face scowling. "I am a better healer than you, dear one, and have not fought multiple battles just since I came on scene, let alone before that. No one is critical anymore, and I need to feel useful."

"I will sleep shortly," Obi-Wan replied, after a few moments of being taken aback at her sharp ferocity. No-one critical, already? Well, she had been with Helix for the entire time of this last push, there and able to help... He always came here first, though. 

The ripple of amusement from his conscious troops just made him shake his head, turning to look at Boil -- and what had he done to himself this time?! -- before he could open his mouth. "Yes, _vod_?" 

"I wasn't going to say a word, sir!" Boil protested, looking innocent as the driven snow on Ilum. 

"You might not, _vod_ ," Helix said drily, straightening up from leaning over a set of med-patches on Theta's chest, "but _I'm_ glad I don't have to. Thank you, Sir, for showing some sense." 

Tahl smirked. "You have appeared. Your men know you care. They also would very much like you to take care of yourself. Right, men?"

Emboldened by her support, there was a general murmur of affirmatives.

"Now go sleep, Obi-Wan. Before I tell them all a story from your padawan days just to show them how red you can turn."

" _Master!_ " Obi-Wan protested, shaking his head at her emphatically, even as that absolute wave of agreement with Master Tahl washed against his senses and left him, once again, overwhelmed at their care for him. "I already agreed, you hardly need to resort to threats to convince me!"

She knew _entirely_ too many of those stories! 

Tahl began to laugh softly. "Let's let your general make his escape, and then I'll tell you one time his Master told me, where he proved how good a Jedi he was going to be," she told the patients, easily able to tend the injured and story-tell at the same time.

He'd find out which story from Boil later, one way or another. He considered protesting that he was _not_ escaping, but that would just add fuel to the fire. And he was tired, if he was honest with himself. 

He knew, he just _knew_ , that this battle's wounded were going to be the envy of the entire rest of the Legion, before Master Tahl was done. He took the turbolifts back up through the ship... and let himself go find not his own quarters but Cody's. His Commander was off-duty at present, after all, and so should be there. 

He was met at the door at the brief knock, with Cody raising one eyebrow… before gratefully accepting his presence and bringing him in to take care of his General.

+++

It was entirely too long a journey back to Coruscant, even with the men in high spirits for that they would be able to get to 79s to relax. But Cody had been so exactly what he needed, pulled him away from the vicious stir of his emotions, reassured him over what Master Tahl was likely to do... and held him despite it, soothed him down to where he could be who his men needed. 

And it was good to have time to talk to Master Tahl of happier things, of some of Anakin's accomplishments, of their precocious delight of a padawan (really his grand-padawan, but just as truthfully theirs) and her exploits, of who now sat on the Council, why, and what some of the reactions had been... 

Eventually, Coruscant gleamed as they came out of hyperspace, and he smiled, just slightly. 

Tahl touched the Force and knew she was home. There was no place in the Galaxy that felt like Coruscant, but even so, she could feel the changes, a sense of darkness and despair.

"The war sits heavy, even here."

"It does," Obi-Wan agreed quietly, turning towards her. "So many decisions about the war are made here -- and so many from attacked Rim Worlds thought to find safety here. Some... with precious little success." 

"Ever there are refugees, and rarely there is succor," Tahl murmured. She then rested a hand lightly on Obi-Wan's shoulder, silently affirming her dedication to heading this off.

Obi-Wan leaned back into her hand, as he nodded his agreement with her words. There weren't enough of them to help, and Coruscant... was so rarely kind. "How do you want to handle returning to the Temple, Master?" 

"Quietly." Tahl did not wish to have to prove herself to the obstinate ones, didn't wish to hurt what few of her friends might yet live. "If I can just get to the Archive room I was in before this began, we'll know if the artifact is there. If it is not… then we may need Master Yoda."

"As you say, Master," Obi-Wan agreed. If they dropped with the first group of the men on leave... few would notice one more Jedi leaving the landing area for the Temple. Silently, he tapped out a message to Bant to check where she was, and tell her he would be heading for the Archives on his arrival.. 

+++

Everything about getting to the Temple had gone perfectly, Bant had commed him that she was on her way to the Archives while they were dropping to the planet, and none of those they passed had even noticed the Jedi beside him -- in a robe of Qui-Gon's out of his locker that fit her a dozen times better than it fit him -- more than to nod greetings. 

Here, even with the changes in personnel, Tahl could walk confidently, knowing the space around her and using the flow of the Force to guide her steps. Learning to overcome her disability had begun here, and she had excelled, too stubborn to give up. As they looked like they knew just what business they were on, none stopped them, all the way to the Archives… and then she felt the brush of a presence she had long grown accustomed to.

Taking Bant as padawan had been a choice with difficulty. On the one hand, Tahl had finally been pushed to pass on some of her knowledge. On the other, it had been encouraged just as Tahl was adapting to her blindness, and that had led to some roughness, feeling she had been given a nursemaid.

However, Bant was a sweet, warm person, and it was so hard not to love the child. This presence, though, was no child. The quiet ripple of shock as the training bond opened communicated itself to Tahl, and she winced a little. Her poor Bant had suffered a snapped bond, rather than a carefully closed one.

"Hello, my dear Bant," she said softly. "I am real, and the Force is odd, but I swear… it is I."

"M-master?"

Obi-Wan heard the pure shock in his friend's voice, the pain in the way the sound was half-burble, and wondered if he had been wrong. But then Bant moved, taking quick strides, and wrapped her arms tight around Master Tahl, and he breathed a little easier. 

"You're real?" Bant demanded, holding on as hard as she could, even as her eyes and ears and nose, the sudden steady warmth where an old, dark emptiness had been all told her 'yes'. She didn't understand, but -- she had wished a million times at least to be able to speak to her Master just one more time, and now (somehow), here that chance was. 

Tahl got her own arms around the solid Mon Cal, leaning her head down (not so far now) against Bant's. "Yes, my padawan… very real, and very prepared to do whatever it takes to avert this tragedy." She gave a small, helpless laugh. "The Force must have a sense of humor to choose a blind Archivist as its tool, but it is what must be."

The feel of Bant was one more reminder of her failing, the softer edge of old tragedy in the Mon Cal, much as it had been in Obi-Wan. "Part of that, Bant, is that I need not neglect you so when I get back, yes? Or maybe you preferred your time with Kit Fisto? I know I was not the best master."

Bant made a sharp noise of denial, her arms tightening a little more on her Master, and she shook her head. "Master Fisto was good to me, but I was happy being your padawan. Just -- _stop leaving me behind!_ I want to be there with you, Master!" 

How to growl at her Master for diminishing herself like that, that she would need a few moments to think on. 

Tahl took a breath as she felt that fierceness in her little (not so little now) padawan. "I think that you are very correct, my dear padawan," she conceded, beginning to glimpse a little more of how her death had come about. "Now, before we draw attention, will you guide me back to the Archive artifact storage room six-ell-jay?" she asked, to let Bant stay with her as long as possible. "I'm certain Obi-Wan would probably be better suited being a distraction to the Council, if this ripples in the Force as much as I think it might, and you… are more than capable at being my strength, Bant."

"I would be glad to, Master," Bant answered, making herself let go of her Master enough to only put a hand below her elbow. She didn't want to let go that much, but Master Tahl was right, they were likely to draw attention if they stood here much longer in this embrace. "Very glad. And you don't need someone else to be your strength, Master. You have always had more than enough of that -- but your _wits_ , now, those I might have to be!" 

"I will go and be distracting," Obi-Wan said swiftly, and departed before he heard Master Tahl's response. He would find Bant later, and check on his friend.

Tahl laughed at that. "And here I thought I was the brains of my generation. Force knows it's never Qui," she teased softly. She did not need the steadying guide touch, but she would accept it as a way to maintain the contact her padawan (and her own self) wished. "We have an artifact to find, the one that sent me here to this time. And Bant… I promise you things will be better for us, as well as the galaxy, when I get back."

"Then we will find it, Master," Bant said softly. "And I said nothing about your intelligence. Only your wits. Oh, bother, there's Master Nu. Here, turn, Master," she murmured, and set to getting them out of the line of the Archivist's gaze. Even fully robed, Madame Nu might know Master Tahl's silhouette, and that they did not need. "I am still so confused," she admitted once they were a level away from Master Nu's presence and ears, "but... I know you are _you_." 

Tahl smiled at that. "I know, dear. I was quite confused to be cataloguing one moment, then out on a battlefield, to be rescued by Obi-Wan." She shook her head a little. "Little Obi-Wan, a Master of the Council. Qui will be so proud… and disconcerted. I'm just as pleased to find you haven't joined the group of idiots, Bant. I love the order, but I don't always agree with our direction."

Bant couldn't help a moment's giggle at 'little' -- Obi-Wan was still short, but he hadn't been able to be called 'little' in a very long time -- before she sobered slightly. "Being on the Council isn't doing anything good for him," she admitted to her Master, shaking her head slightly, "and that padawan -- former padawan -- of his... oh, he is _impossible_. Brilliant, but so difficult! 

"As to the direction of the Order... I don't disagree with you at all there, Master." 

"We may be taking charge of that padawan, Bant," Tahl told her. "He's given me all the details I need to find the mother, when she is still pregnant. Which means I will possibly show a little more interest in the creche." She didn't like the idea of all the stress on Obi-Wan's shoulders. "I know you will be a strong help to me, as I try to unravel all the threads leading to this. Because you were always a strong being, Bant. If I failed to tell you I was proud then… please know it now."

Bant started to reply to the idea of her Master taking an interest in the creche... and then there was that last, and two decades of training in Jedi reserve cracked apart, her hands flexing and her eyes blinking rapidly with shock and relief and grief she had thought she had long let go of. "I -- Master -- it -- " 

Tahl shifted, getting her arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "Shh, dear. Shh. It's going to be alright. I'll prove it to the you there." She squeezed ever so gently, before she turned their steps on instinct, realizing they were close to the storage room she needed.

Bant nodded, unable to disbelieve her Master even now, and made herself put her tumult aside to be helpful. 

"It is a mutli-colored polygonal artifact, with a script I was trying to decipher by touch," Tahl said helpfully. "Be careful you don't touch it; that would be awkward, I think, for one of this time to be trapped then, in a time you already live in."

Bant listened to that advice, and helped her Master find the thing, hope slowly building.

+++

When Tahl came to her senses again, she was in the same room… and the helper-droid was not. However, Master Windu was.

"Quite the Force ripple, Tahl," he said in an even voice, yet she knew he was investigating the incident with all of his senses.

Let him, and let him wonder. At least about the majority of it. Too many pieces of this were tied to Qui, and she was waiting for him to tell all of it. Adi, she would bring into her confidence sooner, but even Adi was only getting tipped off to the political side of it.

"This artifact needs to be cased and locked away, on the off-chance it can be activated again, Mace," she said, dispensing with formality since he was alone, and had used her name. She still remembered his arrival in the Temple.

"Care to tell me more?"

She turned her sightless eyes his way, tipping her head a little. "In time, yes. But what the Force revealed to me through this device is something I must meditate on, and work on understanding how best to proceed."

Mace made a quiet, unsettled noise at both her words and the ringing of the Force that still poured over him... but he understood the need to meditate, to wait before speaking. 

"Are you well?" he asked, rather than push too hard, too fast. Tahl was renowned for her stubbornness, after all, and he did not need to rile that. Yet.

"I think so." Emotionally, she had been through a storm, but physical wellness was the important thing right now. "I appreciate the concern. And once I see how to slot all of what I learned into place, I will find you. And Master Yoda. It may not be for some time, though, as I experienced a few days worth of visions since the artifact took hold of me."

That was absolutely true and told nearly nothing.

A few _days_ of visions. Mace winced, despite himself, not enjoying the thought of that. "I don't envy you that headache, my friend. Can I offer you any aid at the moment?" 

"I think, if you will see this into a safe place, I will find my own way to my quarters." Tahl gave him a faint smile, pretty certain he was probably faintly surprised. After all, she never let injuries keep her out of the Archives during her waking hours in the Temple.

Tahl, leaving the Archives early? Mace was more startled, but he nodded. "As you wish," he agreed, and picked the object up telekinetically, rather than touch it. "May the Force guide you clearly, Master." 

"For all the galaxy's sake, I hope so," she agreed, just so he understood this was nothing frivolous. With the artifact taken care of, she made her way out of the Archives, going directly to quarters. Along the way, she typed a message out on her comm for Bant, letting her padawan know that she had taken the rest of the day off, that she was fine, and that Bant would be more than welcome to join her.

Mace studied the object in his Force-grip with curious eyes, even as he went to deal with securing it. What had this little thing set off?

Bant, for her part, did not believe for a moment that her Master was fine, if she was taking the day off, and hurried back to their quarters to join her. 

Tahl was making a snack for herself… and then the door opened. "Oh, I said I was fine, dearest," she said as Bant's presence settled along her senses. "But you're here. Are you hungry?" She came to where her padawan was, reaching out to gently rest a hand on her shoulder.

"I think I am," Bant agreed, leaning into that hand for a moment. "And I believed you, Master. But something must not be, for you to be here instead of still in the Archives, and something... something felt wrong." 

"Oh!" Tahl's other hand came to Bant's far shoulder, before she decided no, this was the right time to start making changes, and actually stepped in, hugging her. "The Force decided to be very emphatic with me about some things that need to change, my padawan," she said softly. "You must have caught the echo of what that did with me," she reasoned. "And yes, I took the rest of the day off, so I could start sorting it out."

Bant squeaked at the sudden embrace, but leaned into it in the next breath, her arms coming up to hold onto her Master, too. "...emphatic, Master?" she asked, and added, "how can I help?" 

Tahl gave her a warm smile, thinking of the Knight she would become. "Be yourself, Bant. Talk to me more… ask me the questions you may have been holding back." She straightened and moved to return to the kitchen, body language inviting company. "I know I have not been the most attentive Master… no, Bant, listen to me.... I plan to change that. I want you at my side, to help me once my path is more clear.

"So that means, my little one, we need to work on strengthening the trust between us."

Bant dipped her head a little, following her Master into the kitchen. She would never have said her Master was inattentive. Holding her a little apart, yes, but... she knew Master Tahl cared for her, would aid her, and that she did matter, even when her Master's need to be seen as capable -- as though she could be anything else? -- got in the way of her accepting help. "I would like that, Master. Very much. I will do as you say." 

What had _happened_?!

"Do you have any idea when Obi-Wan and his master will return?" Qui-Gon never commed, but she knew the two padawans sometimes stayed in touch, if the mission allowed. Tahl moved through the kitchen easily, selecting some of Bant's favorite snacks and assembling a plate for her. "I'll need you to keep your friend occupied when they do, because part of my… we'll go with vision, needs to be relayed to Qui-Gon.

"I do not plan to keep it from you, Bant, but I do need time to write it out and understand the way I want us to work with it."

Bant hummed thoughtfully, then nodded. "If things go well, another five days? If not... well, it is Obi-Wan and Master Jinn?" 

Visions. Visions were never comfortable things, it seemed to her, and she understood needing time to sort one out. 

Tahl laughed at that summation. "It is indeed," she said with amusement. "Alright." She put the food in place for both of them, added water for their drinks, and settled on her stool. "I have been shown a possible future, quite emphatically, Bant. One that must not be allowed. There was far too much suffering.

"I know you are quite young, but you are also quite steady and forthright. I will need that calm and appraisal as we make plans, as well as any unique insights you can bring. Are you willing to face that kind of challenge?"

Bant lifted her head, her jaw clicking into shut as her eyes moved to look directly at her Master, turning those words over. "I will help you, Master, however I can. We are Jedi, is averting suffering not what we are _for_?" 

Tahl reached out and covered her hand lightly. "A proper answer… but one I can feel is honest in your heart, my padawan."

"I do try to be, Master... and that is something I do feel very strongly about," Bant answered, pressing into that gentle touch, smiling at her Master. 

"I am very proud to have you have as my padawan, Bant," Tahl told her seriously. "And I will not be leaving you behind in the future. Not unless it is something I am told is too dangerous for a padawan of your age."

Bant swallowed a few times, then moved to lean her head against her Master, holding on. "Thank you, Master. I know you are strong and capable, but it worries me when I cannot be at your side." 

Tahl placed her arm around her young padawan's shoulders and kept her there. She would fix this relationship first. All else would fall into line after.

+++

Tahl knew from Bant when the ship arrived, knew how long it usually took for Qui-Gon to finish his report, and knew that she didn't want to give Qui-Gon a chance to get settled too firmly or the man would find another mission. So she went to their apartment, letting herself in to wait for Qui-Gon. With any luck, Obi-Wan would have already wandered off, and she could get this taken care of without distressing the boy.

[Bant, keep eyes and ears out for your friend, while I tackle his master. Feel free to invite him over; just keep him out of the way until I tell Qui everything.] She typed the message, hit send, and settled to wait on Qui's couch.

[Okay, Master,] Bant agreed, and went to make certain that she could do just that. 

Qui-Gon wanted an actual water shower, food, and sleep -- in pretty much that order -- and was fairly set on having all of the above. Set enough that he didn't notice the feeling of company in his quarters until he had opened the door and found his dearest friend sitting on his couch. "Tahl? Are you all right?" 

"Quite well, Qui-Gon." She rose and met him near the door. "It's just that you and I need to have a very long talk, and I need to do this." She, mostly gently, brought her hand up to smack him in the back of the head. "Preemptively, for things I will explain," she added at his shocked, hurt look.

"What did I do?" he demanded, staring at her in confusion. It hadn't hurt enough to reach up to soothe it, but -- she hadn't actually slapped him in years! 

"You died, by pulling a stupid trick you've chided your padawan over!" she snapped, before reining the emotions back in. She'd promised herself to stay cool and level-headed. She didn't need to complicate this further by allowing Qui to glimpse her complex emotions over the idea of him being dead in that future. "I had quite the experience with the Force, Qui, and I need your help to make certain none of it happens." /Especially you dying, on a personal level./

He opened his mouth to protest her first words -- he was quite alive, after all -- and then she said that, and he blinked. An 'experience' with the Force, she called it, not just a vision... and she was so very, very upset. Gathering her composure back together, now, but... did she actually feel as he did? 

That for later, he told himself firmly, paying attention to her words and her expressed need for his help. "I will help," he agreed, "but dare I ask what in the galaxy it is that you've Seen?" 

She took his hand then, guiding him to the couch. "Not just Seen, Qui-Gon. Experienced. I was gone from here to a point more than twenty years from now," she told him. "And the future that I refuse to allow is an awful travesty, ruining the galaxy as a whole, tearing apart all that is just." She settled in her preferred spot on the couch, not letting go of his hand. "Fortunately, your padawan was the one to find me, and help me understand what was happening."

"My padawan?" Qui-Gon blinked, thinking about Obi-Wan twenty years in the future. A man in his early thirties, surely a Knight... and no image came to mind. No sight of what his padawan might become, even with Tahl's words to look by... He settled down with her, offering her his other hand to clasp so that he could put his nearer arm behind her, if she would let him. "Those are things you would not say lightly, dear friend, so..." 

She accepted the exchange of hands, settled so that they were sitting as companionably as they could, and then she rested her head on his shoulder. "Master Kenobi, of the High Council even," she said with amusement for the idea. She had no doubt in Obi-Wan's ability to rise to that; it was the irony of whose padawan he was that amused her. "I was cataloguing, and then I was on a battlefield, my friend, with the battle thankfully retreating away from me, and some helpful soldiers quick to assist me."

"Master?" Qui-Gon asks -- all right, it might not be an entirely even-voiced question, but the thought is startling, and -- "On the _Council_?! Why -- no, never mind that. A battlefield, dear one?" 

His Obi-Wan, on the _Council_?

"You sound as startled as I was to find him a man grown, wearing a beard, and leading soldiers, my friend," she said softly. "Oh Qui, it is an awful thing he lived with! From losing you to the point he was in with that war, he'd borne far too much weight on his shoulders!"

"He only shaves twice a ten-day!" Qui-Gon protested the thought of his padawan with a full beard grown in. "...leading soldiers, you said? But we are not..." The idea of the Jedi as officers in a war was nauseating, frightening. That hadn't happened in so many millennia that even the idea of it was barely more than a myth. 

"Their general," she agreed sadly. "And we have so many problems. I've already had to tell Adi some of this, to get her started on unraveling the corruption in the Senate, as apparently the Trade Federation's coffers run quite deep. But there is so much that can/will go wrong if we are not vigilant.

"I'll start with the biggest shock for me. The Sith exist, Qui, and they have faced two directly… with a third one known."

Qui-Gon heard himself actually yelp and did not bother to try to explain it away or cover it. He did take a few breaths before he could ask evenly, "The Sith, my dear one? In truth?" 

That was a very frightening thought, though it did do something to explain why the Jedi would be once again called into service as generals. The Sith, active in the galaxy even now? 

Tahl tightened her hand on his, deep breath escaping before she answered. "You had the notoriety of being the first known Jedi killed by one. So yes, Sith. Of that, Obi-Wan was absolutely positive."

Qui-Gon was torn between indignance at the idea of dying at Sith hands, and a faint pleasure that it had apparently taken a reappearing Sith to kill him. He buried that last before Tahl could hit him again, and shook his head slightly. "That's... disturbing. All right. So our old enemies are still about, and apparently going to do terrible things unless we can avert them." 

His poor padawan... had he died too quickly to gently sever the bond, or had he had time enough? Had Obi-Wan had the care he needed, in the face of that? 

"Only the apprentices' identities were known to Master Kenobi," she said, sticking to the formal name to avoid confusion with the boy here/now. "A Zabrak from Dathomir named Darth Maul… who you rushed into battle with… and Darth Tyranus." Her tone went quiet and gentle on that. "Him, we might be able to most do something about, Qui. Potentially keep him from becoming Sith."

"Why in the names of the Force was I idiot enough to close to a fight with a Zabrak? Also, _Dathomir_?" Qui-Gon asked, before the softness in her voice and the mixture of regret and rage in the Force caught all of his attention. "...oh?" 

"If I am going to be charitable, I'd say you might have Seen something where one of you _would_ die, and were yourself about it, never mind self-fulfilling Sight," Tahl grumbled at the first. Then she took a slow breath, released it, and shifted to hold _him_. "When's the last time you spoke to your Master?"

"Just after I took Obi-Wan on," Qui-Gon replied, then shook his head. "No, that's not right. Just after he came back to us, I spoke with my Master. We -- well. I'm sure you can imagine _his_ response." 

Tahl brushed her thumb over his knuckles, right over a faint scar from a deflection in lightsaber training. "Qui, he's the second apprentice, Darth Tyranus, that Kenobi knew of. Kenobi was nearly executed by him, along with his own padawan. There was a slaughter of Jedi that day," Tahl said softly.

Qui-Gon reared up to his full height, staring at her in furious disbelief, his head shaking. "No. _No_ , Tahl." 

He couldn't believe that, not of his Master. 

The lines of her face hardened. "Qui, I know what I experienced. I felt the raw pain of the man your padawan becomes, his absolute rage at a Fallen Jedi, one who taunted that you of all people might have gone to his side! I felt the grief and guilt he carried for the death of nearly two hundred Jedi and countless soldiers," Tahl told him fiercely. "Your Master _will_ Fall, if we do not find a way to pull him back securely!"

Only Tahl's absolute certainty, ferocity, and the way she kept focusing things on his padawan, his last, best student (no slight to Feemor, but Obi-Wan was unique) dragged Qui-Gon out of his instantly defensive anger and at least half into belief. 

"He's not lost yet," Tahl reminded. "We can help him stay in the Light… yes, Qui, I am willing to aid you in that, even if I don't like the man… and that's one less thing this mysterious Sith master called Darth Sidious can use."

"I refuse to lose him too," Qui-Gon replied, leaning into her hold, before that other name pricked his attention. "Mysterious, is it?" 

"They know nothing of who he, she, they are," Tahl said softly. "But Darth Sidious is thought to be manipulating the Republic side of things, from Coruscant, or at least through a Core World power. I am hoping that Adi, as she traces out the corruption, can turn up a solid lead for us.

"Now that I have the two biggest shocks out of the way, let me start at the beginning as he did, and go through, piece by piece, so you can see what we are facing."

Qui-Gon nodded, slowly, still cold all the way to his bones at the idea of his Master Falling, Fallen... not only Fallen but worse than that, _Sith_. He couldn't imagine that being possible, but Tahl was so convinced. And convinced by his padawan's pain.... which meant he had to listen. 

Tahl began, as Obi-Wan had, with that mission to Naboo, and told the events as an Archivist, separating herself out of the emotional mess it was. The whole time, though, she kept at least a hand on Qui-Gon, offering comfort.

+++


End file.
